The purpose of a writer is to be read, and the criticism which would destroy the power of pleasing must be blown aside

He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.

Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenged; crimes are avenged.

The stream of Time, which is continually washing the dissoluble fabrics of other poets, passes without injury by the adamant of Shakespeare.

Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity.

The hostility perpetually exercised between one man and another, is caused by the desire of many for that which only few can possess. Every man would be rich, powerful, and famous; yet fame, power, and riches, are only the names of relative conditions, which imply the obscurity, dependence, and poverty of greater numbers.

We may have uneasy feelings for seeing a creature in distress without pity; for we have not pity unless we wish to relieve them.